Reading Dostoevsky Behind Bars (Update)

Reginald Dwayne Betts spent more than eight years in prison. Today he's a Yale Law graduate, a MacArthur Fellow, and a poet. His nonprofit works to build libraries in prisons so that more incarcerated people can find hope.

SOURCES:Reginald Dwayne Betts • , founder and director of Freedom Reads, award-winning poet, and lawyer.

RESOURCES:Doggerel: Poems, • by Reginald Dwayne Betts (2025). • “ The Poet Writing on Prison Underwear • ,” by Adam Iscoe ( The New Yorker, • 2023). The Voltage Effect, • by John List (2022). • “ If We Truly Believe in Redemption and Second Chances, Parole Should Be Celebrated • ,” by Reginald Dwayne Betts ( The Washington Post, • 2021). Insurrections, • by Rion Scott (2016). The Secret History of Wonder Woman, • by Jill Lepore (2014). Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, • by Robert M. Pirsig (1974). The Black Poets, • by Dudley Randall (1971). • “ For Freckle-Faced Gerald • ,” by Etheridge Knight ( Poems from Prison, • 1968). Felon: An America Washi Tale, • by Reginald Dwayne Betts. Freedom Reads • .

EXTRAS: • “ Can a Moonshot Approach to Mental Health Work? • ” by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2023). • “ Can Data Keep People Out of Prison? • ” by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2023). • “ The Price of Doing Business with John List • ,” by People I (Mostly) Admire • (2022). • “ Why Do Most Ideas Fail to Scale? • ” by Freakonomics Radio • (2022).